books

Apparently I have been "tagged" by my brother over at A Call to Die to answer ten book related questions. To keep things interesting I am going to try not to answer with THE BIBLE for every question, as it has an unfair advantage with the whole divinely inspired thing, although in truth it would be my first answer for the first five questions.

1. One book that changed your life: (other than Bible) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo or Desiring God by John Piper
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Ecclesiastical History by Eusibius
3. One book you’d want on a desert island: I just gotta go with the B-I-B-L-E for this one.
4. One book that made you laugh: Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll
5. One book that made you cry: I cry all the time when I read, really I do. Even when reading seminary textbooks, kind of pathetic. But I guess most recently I would have to say Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener or The Reformed Pastor by
6. One book that you wish had been written: My Life with Christ by some humble, unknown, illiterate, peasant, Christian marytr in any period of church history or Everything You Want to Know but Don't Need to Know by God
7. One book that you wish had never been written: Probably either the Quran or the Book of Mormon, but having them in print makes it so much easier to point out their absurdities and inconsitancies so I'm going to have to go with Pride and Predjudice. Jane Austen and I don't get along well, although it's been a while since I've read her so maybe I should give her another chance one of these days.
8. One book you’re currently reading: see sidebar, also currently doing my devotionals in Song of Solomon -it rocks!
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: The life of David Brainard by Jonathon Edwards
10. Tag five others (I'm only tagging one): Matt Hendley

by His Grace,
for His glory,
jrf

The Radical Reformission

I just finished reading The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll. I loved it. Sure, I didn't necessarily agree with everything but I don't think I've ever read a book that I have (outside of scripture, and even there it isn't a matter of agreeing just believeing and obeying). One reason I liked it is because Driscoll seems to be the kind of guy who would get in trouble because he has a big mouth and is a little rough around the edges. Kind of reminds me of somebody I know. Possibly most helpful though was Driscoll's Biblically informed evaluation of our culture and suggestions as to how to confront that culture with the Gospel of Christ without compromising the message. This approach was a breath of fresh air as in a lot of circles I float in evangelism means inviting your unsaved coworker who barely knows you to come to church in the hopes that he will magically be able to interpret all the nuiances of our Christianesque subculture and give their lives to Christ. Too many times have I heard, (and been tempted myself) people explain the "gospel" as giving your life to Jesus or asking Him into your heart or even accepting Christ as the propitiation for our sins, as if an unchurched person is going to have any clue what that means. Driscoll proposes that we need to understand the cultural baggage that people bring with them and make sure that we share the Gospel in a way that is both truthful and effectual. Now I know to some of you that may sound like compromising or seeker sensitive or whatever. But I encourage you to read the book and then decide.

I'll leave this quote to chew on:

Because the kingdom is our model, we must be wary of every generation's tendancy to tout a "new" culture to replace the kingdom. A case in point is the present-day postmodern bandwagon.
What can we say about postmodernism?
First, postmodernism is basically a philosophical junk drawer in which people toss anything and everything they cannot make sense of. If you ask four philosophers what postmodernity is, you will get five answers.
Second, postmodernity is not actually that new, as demonstrated by the fact that philosopher Huston Smith wrote about life on the other side of postmodernity in his 1982 book Beyond the Postmodern Mind.
Third, even a cursory reading of Ecclesiastes shows that culture is a stationary bike that each generation climbs on in hopes of getting somewhere only to die and fall off so that the new young stud can take his turn peddling and , like a fool, make pronouncements about his progress. We would be wise to see postmodernity as simply the new guy on the old bike and not mistaking cultural change for kingdom progress.
Fourth, postmodern culture is not something we should ignore, oppose, or embrace; rather it is simply another culture that we should seek to redeem and transform by the power of the gospel. Indeed, culture is an old whore, and modernity and postmodernity are simply her old and new dresses. (161)

...longing

Today I started reading a “how to apply the Bible to your life book” . What is happening to me? I mean I (sometimes) appreciate the input of older, wiser, Godlier men and women, but whatever happened to the days when I didn’t learn about God in a book (I’m not considering the Word of God a book). I’m sick of vicarious intimacy with Christ. That’s because it’s not real. It doesn’t exist. I can’t and I won’t know my Savior through anyone else’s knowledge or experience. That’s the danger and beauty of love. You must be willing to be consumed. Maybe that’s why I feel like I’m riding the bench. This can’t go on much longer. It’s time to play or get off the team. I long for those days when I could feel God’s presence with every breath I took. Those moments are fleeting, just a glimpse of something beyond this age, but how wonderful they are. How wonderful they were. How wonderful they will be. Yet in this moment right now they seem about as real as a 1960’s epic about a manboy in a loincloth named Perseus. How I long for faith. Real faith that enables me to live in the unseen. Faith that knows that promises made thousands of earth years ago are more wonderfully binding on my destiny than any dates in my planner (not that I actually have one, a planner that is, not dates) and more certain than tomorrow’s sunrise. Faith that unregrettably enraptures me in a life that is lived by, for, in, and because of my relationship with the Divine.

As I look back on my life, I am amazed at all the things God has taught me. I have grown, I cannot deny it. Yet it seems that the more I grow in Christ the farther away I feel. I guess I’m just getting a miniature hint at how low Christ had to reach to rip me out of the pit.

What a horrible thought that I actually attend reunions there from time to time.

by His grace, for His glory
jrf

rumble with the rhino

"If a rhinoceros were to enter this restaurant now, there is no denying he would have great power here," Chesterton remarked at one point. "But I should be the first to rise and assure him that he had no authority whatever."
- G.K. Chesterton

I have been reading the Enemy Within by Kris Lundgaard (basically a modern retelling of John Owen's The Mortification of Sin ) lately and found this quote in there. My first thought was "why did Chesterton have to pick on the rhino?" But then as I kept reading I realized that this was a perfect (well maybe not perfect) picture of sin in the life of a believer. We are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:6) but that does not mean that sin cannot touch us any longer. Sin, in fact, can still make powerful inroads into our lives (Gal 4:8-9), crushing any spiritual fruit God plants in us before it blooms. So what is the difference between a believer and an unbeliever in the light of the power of sin, you may ask. Two things.

1. NO CONDEMNATION (Romans 8:1)
   

Christ payed the punishment for our sins. Therefore we do not have to fear the eternal punishment we deserve. But does that mean we can submit ourselves to the whip of our old slavemaster while here on earth?

2. THE WEAPONS TO KILL ( Romans 8:12-13)

The rhino is in our bedroom. And the rhino is pissed. Does the rhino have the power to make himself a nice John-kabob? You bet. But just like old G.K. we must stand up to that angry horned mammalian and show him the door. Or better yet. Make a nice taxidermy monument to hang above the mantel piece. How do we fight this rhino? Maybe Chesterton could go hand to-horn with the beast (i hear he was somewhat of a rhino himself) but personally, I need the help of the Holy Spirit. God has given us the resources we need to fight sin. And He has given us the reason. It just comes down to whether we will fight or not. Every day. Every night. For the rest of your life. Is it worth it? I think so (Romans 8:16).
Of course you could always just be turned into rhino dung if you'd rather.


Please pray for the strength to perservere to the end.

p.s. No rhinoceroses (rhinoceri?) were harmed in the creation of this post. This site does not endorse causing physical harm in anyway to animals, wild or domestic, unless under extreme durress and defending your own well-being or the well-being of another human. I apologize for any distress or psychological damage suffered by any rhino's who may have read the post or had it read to them

vaya con Dios
j.r.f.